Across the country people are joining in actions to defend worker and immigrant rights. Everywhere people are angered by President Barack Obama’s refusal to Stop the Raids and Deportations and instead send 1200 National Guard to the border. A main focus for actions is to stand against Arizona SB 1070, which legalizes government profiling and will greatly increase repression and deportations in Arizona.

A main demonstration in Phoenix Arizona will bring together many unions, immigrant rights organizations, indigenous peoples and community activists. Denver, Los Angeles, San Antonio and Miami are among the many cities sending buses to Arizona. The action is urging President Obama to:

1) Reassert the federal government's exclusive control over immigration law by making clear that state and local police do not have the inherent authority to enforce immigration law.

3) Direct the Department of Homeland Security to refuse to take custody of anyone charged with violating provisions of SB 1070.

On Friday, May 28, a Human Rights Festival is being organized at 8pm with music and art and banner making for the march. The march Saturday, May 29 has successfully brought together local and national human, civil, labor and faith organizations. Multiple actions are also taking place in 21 states. On Sunday, March 30, an Organizing Summit will be held to further strengthen the fight for rights. There will be discussion and planning about how to continue the struggle for human rights and dignity in Arizona and nationwide. Specific plans are being developed for a freedom summer, ongoing boycott, base building in Arizona, and a non-compliance strategy for SB1070.

All the actions are reflecting the united spirit of the working class that No Human Being is Illegal and that we stand All for One and One for All. The peoples are refusing to accept criminalization and militarization, the answers being offered by Obama and Congress. Despite the government’s clear path of more troops and repression the peoples are firm: Our Security Lies in Our Fight for Rights!

AltoArizona.com will be streaming live from Phoenix on May 28 & 29, 2010

We are excited to announce that the Alto Arizona communications team will be streaming events live from Phoenix, AZ, on the evening of Friday, May 28th (Festival for Human Rights) and during the National Day of Action March on the Saturday, May 29th! On these days, the Alto Arizona front page will switched over to a video streaming interface where users will be able to see the events through the USTREAM embedded streaming media viewer.

Streaming Schedule:

Friday, May 28:
6pm to 12 am, Live from the Festival for Human Rights @ 2nd Avenue & Grant St. in Phoenix.

Saturday, May 29:
8am to 2pm, Live from the March and Rally at the State Capitol.

On May 25, national and local leaders announced details for the national mega-march on Saturday May 29 in Phoenix, Arizona and the newest targets of the boycott against SB1070. Pablo Alvarado, Executive Director, National Day Laborer Organizing Network, stated, “The eyes of the world are watching and President Obama must act. SB1070 is where we draw the line and say enough is enough. Enough of a disastrous and dangerous ‘enforcement first’ strategy to immigration reform. Enough to the criminalization of workers and families. We will escalate our struggle if the President does not act concretely and immediately to stop the implementation of SB1070.”

On May 29th caravans and buses are mobilizing from as far as Washington DC to Phoenix to repudiate SB1070 and demand the President put words into action. That day there will also be solidarity actions in more than 21 states.

Salvador Reza, a prominent local leader and organizer with Puente, Arizona, confirmed the following participants at the march including labor leaders such as: Richard Trumka, President of the AFL-CIO, Dolores Huerta, co-founder of the United Farm Workers, Eliseo Medina, International Executive Vice President of Service Employees Internatinal Union as well as politicians such Luis Gutierrez (Illinois, D), Raul Grijalva (Arizona, D), and artists such as Alex Lora of El Tri and Jenni Rivera. Some of the original Mississippi freedom summer organizers will also be present along with other African American leaders.

“Arizona has long been a testing ground of failed enforcement immigration polices like the 287(g) program and Secure Communities that empower local authorities to racially profile and terrorize the community all under the guise of federal immigration enforcement. The federal government helped create his disaster, now it must stop it,” said Salvador Reza.

Alfredo Gutierrez, co-chair of the Arizona boycott committee and founder of Lafronteratimes.com, announced three new boycott targets in addition to the Arizona Diamondbacks baseball team. They include: Anheuser-Busch Bud Light Beer, Tostitos, and Jimmy John’s Gourmet Sandwiches.

Gutierrez said, “The boycott targets announced include those companies that have supported politicians in support of SB1070 and other horrendous civil rights abusers like Sheriff Arpaio.”

For the third time, Los Jornaleros offer the people their talent and their love with their music of resistance and struggle. With their new album, "Que no pare la lucha," Los Jornaleros again put music to life, work, pain, and hope. They know that if they cease to sing, there will be no one to denounce deportations; there will be no one to sing against wage theft; there will be no one to stand in front of the cowardly silence that tolerates hate and racism against the outsider. There will be no one to energize wishes and desires. And, so long as there is something to speak against and those to bring hope and faith, the shout of the Jornalero will not be ceased.

Los Jornaleros could sing about love, betrayal or beautiful women...and they would do it well; and perhaps their music would even be played on the radio. Nevertheless, they have decided to sing for the worker, for the student and the immigrant who, in spite of the trials and tribulations, refuses to let their hopes die. They have made a decision to sing to those who, leaving ego aside, fight for a more just, human world. They have decided to sing to the marginalized and denounce what subjugates them. They've decided to sing to those being evicted and denounce what is displacing them. They have decided to sing to the refugee and accuse those who expel them. Their cry is proclamation of sorrow and vitality.

And this is why, for now, this genre is not heard on the radio. But, Los Jornaleros do not care for the commercial destiny that their verses may achieve. They only care about picking up the sentiment and the life of the people and returning it with song and harmony. This is their work, converting situations of oppression into acts liberation. In this way, between practices and performances, Los Jornaleros turn the people's culture into a culture of emancipation. Because when the people celebrate their struggle with song and poetry, art and culture become tools for resistance and liberation.

It has been more than 12 years since Los Jornaleros began this beautiful and difficult work. They have taken the joy of their music to universities, unions, community organizations, schools, day laborer centers and corners, women's groups and the marches for immigrant rights. In this way, they have put a human face to the history of man and woman that, each day, offer their labor in an honorable and dignified manner to the streets and avenues through out the country.

Some members have gone on to search for new horizons and others remain after all these years. Some have been deported and others have returned to their home countries. Los Jornaleros constantly create themselves, just as their songs are created and developed. New generations of Jornaleros join and each one contributes their distinct touch to the music. And this is because the group belongs to no particular person. It belongs to the Jornaleros and Jornaleras. It belongs to the movement for immigrant rights. It belongs to women and men workers. It belongs to the people.

Los Jornaleros, will donate all proceeds of their most recent album, “Que no pare la lucha,” to the fight in Arizona.

We are reaching out to get your ear for a minute about this critical situation in Arizona.

If you have not heard, the Arizona state legislature passed a bill (SB 1070) that was signed into law by Governor Jan Brewer that legalizes and sanctions racial profiling. Straight up.

It forces the cops to hunt down and target anyone they "reasonably suspect" that may be undocumented. And if the people they harass don't have proof that they were born in the U.S., they can be detained and arrested. This must be stopped.

Fans of our music, our stories, our films and our words can be pulled over and harassed every day because they are brown or black, or for the way they speak, or for the music they listen to. People who are poor like some of us used to be could be forced to live in a constant state of fear while just doing what they can to find work and survive. This law opens the door for them to be shaked down, or even worse, detained and deported while just trying to travel home from school, from home to work, or when they just roll out with their friends.

Some of us grew up dealing with racial profiling, but this law (SB 1070) takes it to a whole new low. If other states follow the direction of the Arizona government, we could be headed towards a pre-civil rights era reality. This unjust law was set into motion by the same Arizona government that refused to acknowledge Martin Luther King Jr. day as a national holiday.

When Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat, they arrested her. As a result, people got together and said we are not going to ride the bus until they change the law. It was this courageous action that sparked the Montgomery bus boycott. What if we got together, signed a collective letter saying, "we're not going to ride the bus", saying we are not going to comply. We are not going to play in Arizona. We are going to boycott Arizona!

Signed,

Zack de la Rocha

Here's a list of the courageous artists who have taken a stand for civil and human rights in this collective decision to boycott Arizona:

We are asking artists the world over to stand with us, and not allow our collective economic power to be used to aid and abet civil and human rights violations that will be caused by Arizona’s odious law.

Arizona Solidarity. Stop Criminalizing Our Communities. In Knoxville, we're standing up with Puente and the resistance in Arizona to SB 1070 and all police/immigration collaborations. Join a candlelight vigil to call on President Obama to act immediately

Lansing Michigan, 4PMCristo Rey Church,201 W. Miller Rd.

Gathering Petition Signatures Against SB 1070 & Opposing Similar Law in Michigan.

San Diego, California 5PMLogan Ave. and Cesar Chavez Parkway

Arizona Solidarity. Stop Criminalizing Our Communities. In San Diego, we're standing up with Puente and the resistance in Arizona to SB 1070

Seattle Washington, 2PMUniversity of Washington, Red Square

National MEChA Action: Protest Arizona and Defend Public Education National Movimiento Estudiantil Chicano de Aztlan (MEChA) and MEChA de University of Washington will be having an action ...

Saturday, May 29

California

Oakland, 12PMFruitvale BART Plaza (35th & International Blvd)

Arizona Solidarity. Stop Criminalizing Our Communities

San Diego, 11AM30th & Oceanview

Stand with Arizona and resistance to criminalization of our communities

San Francisco, 4PM
Assemble at Embarcadero at 4PM
March and Protest at AT&T Park at 5:15PM.
24 Willie Mays Plaza

Boycott the Arizona Diamondbacks in SF. Repeal SB1070 in Arizona! Repeal the Ban on Ethnic Studies! Unconditional Amnesty in all 50 states.

San Jose, 2:30PMStory Rd. and King Rd.

When injustice becomes law resistance is needed. May 29, 2010 is a National Day of Action against Arizona's SB 1070 — a law that The National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials said is "an unconstitutional and costly measure that will violate the civil rights of all Arizonans." On this day hundreds of people will go to Arizona for a mass demonstration. Those who are not going to Arizona are encouraged to join a large action in San Jose in the historic corner of Story Rd. and King Rd.

Florida

Orlando, 12PM2500 W. Colonial Drive

Justice for Arizona, Justice for Orange County! Join us to take action against unjust policies and racial profiling!

May 29 is the national day of action against the Arizona law SB 1070. We are standing up in solidarity and resistance with the people of Arizona, and all people who are affected locally by racial profiling. Join us to take a stand against SB 1070 and the recent adoption of ICE’s “Secure Communities” program here in Orange County, Florida. Through this program, the Orange County Sheriff’s Department will work with federal immigration enforcement to help them deport undocumented immigrants who are arrested for any reason—including those who have not yet been given a trial or convicted of a crime. This program encourages racial profiling, and blatantly breaks Sheriff Demings’ 2009 promise: “We are not in the business of enforcing federal immigration law...Our priority is on arresting violators of the law and keeping all of you safe” (Orlando Sentinel).

Illinois

Chicago, 12PMCorner of 18th St. and Blue Island

Join our rally in Pilsen to say no to SB 1070 and call on President Obama to act immediately. We will then march to a local PetSmart to demand that as an Arizona based company, they publicly denounce this law or face a boycott!

Cubs Out of Arizona! Wrigley Field Protest, 1:30pmAddison & Clark

On May29, the Cubs will have a home game at Wrigley Field. Join the campaign to get the team to move Spring training out of Arizona.

Massachusetts

Northampton, 12PMNorthampton City Hall

Rally to oppose SB 1070 and stop the spread of anti-immigrant legislation beyond Arizona’s borders. In the wake of SB 1070’s passage, immigrants are seen as easy targets. Arizona’s SB 1070 mandates state and local law enforcement officials to ask for documentation if there is “reasonable suspicion” that a person’s presence in the United States is not authorized by law, and authorizes citizens to sue police if they think such investigations are not being conducted to the full extent authorized by federal immigration law. SB 1070 will inevitably lead to racial profiling, and the undocumented will face fines and state jail time before being handed over to federal authorities for deportation. SB 1070 also creates a new category of offense of blocking traffic while picking up day laborers, which becomes a felony on second offense, provisions clearly targeting immigrant workers. The Arizona law is quickly becoming known as the “Juan Crow law” because it legalizes racism and second-class citizenship for Latinos in much the same way Jim Crow segregation laws did in the South to African Americans before the civil rights movement. Americans for Legal Immigration PAC, sats that 18 other states, including Rhode Island, are introducing similar bills. While these anti-immigrant bills are being introduced on the state level, they are not separated from national organizing because President Barack Obama could mandate that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) not comply with the new Arizona law or that amnesty be granted on the federal level to all undocumented immigrants. The Western Massachusetts Immigrant and Worker Rights Coalition is organizing the rally. We are a group of organizations and community members who advocate, educate, organize, and mobilize to protect the human, civil and constitutional rights of all workers and residents in our communities.

Minnesota

St. Paul, 12PM
Henry Whipple Federal Building

Minnesota Day of Action Against SB1070. BAM! Kickoff for Boycott Arizona Minnesota (BAM). On May 1st, more than 6,000 immigrants and allies marched in Minneapolis against the racist Arizona law SB 1070 and for a just immigration reform. Just a few days later Republicans introduced a copycat bill in Minnesota; just like Arizona's, it would turn racial profiling into law.

An alliance of immigrants and their allies are launching a campaign Boycott Arizona – Minnesota! (BAM!). BAM has 3 goals:

1. Help to Repeal SB1070 in Arizona by encouraging individuals, organizations, and businesses to boycott Arizona.

3. Push for a real solution to this broken system — federal immigration reform with legalization and full equality.

On May 29 in solidarity with Arizona, and the Minnesota immigrant community threatened by similar laws here, we will be kicking off the BAM! campaign. Afterwards we will march to nearby Fort Snelling to unite with our indigenous Dakota brothers and sisters in solidarity with their demand to take down the fort and 515 years of resistance to colonization.

Celebrating the Immigrant Bounty — Speakout in Solidarity with Arizona Day of Action. Our event will include: Booth filled with information about how immigrants contribute on our farms. Local fruits and vegetables available at booth! Speak Out Event at 10 AM with Deacon David Sweenie who has worked with farmworkers in the area for years and another speaker who will make a statement of solidarity with the Arizona Day of Action.

San Juan, 5:15PMThe south intersection of Exp 83 and Raul Longoria Drive(at the entrance to the Shrine of San Juan)

Acto de Presencia - Day of Action against SB 1070. In the Rio Grande Valley, we're standing up with the resistance in Arizona to SB 1070 and all police/immigration collaborations. In solidarity with our Latino sisters and brothers in Arizona and as participants in a National Day of Action and Protest against Arizona SB 1070, the Equal Voice Network is proud to offer “Un Acto de Presencia In the Rio Grande Valley, TX, we're standing up with the resistance in Arizona to the hateful law ...

In Washington, DC, we're standing up with the resistance in Arizona to say no to SB 1070 and demand Obama take action.

Wisconsin

Madison, 6PMDane County Building, 210 Martin Luther King Boulevard

Arizona Solidarity. Stop Criminalizing Our Communities.

Sunday, May 30

Passaic, New Jersey 10AM381 Gregory Ave

Passaic County March. Everyone is invited to the first 5-mile march in Passaic County. We are a coalition of Hispanic-American organizations and associations. The rally will begin at 10 am at School No.11, 381 Gregory Ave, and will finish at approximately 3pm at Juan Pablo Duarte Plaza. The Coalition of Hispanic American Organizations and Associations of Passaic County is organizing this march in support of the rights of immigrants and in search of a dignified life with rights included in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The Coalition of Associations and Organizations asks to: • Stop the deportation of parents of American children that destroys households and leaves children behind. • Reject the totalitarian and unconstitutional law SB 1070 of Arizona that will perpetuate racial profiling and may encourage hate crimes. • Boycott commerce in the state of Arizona. • Halt the implementation of 287(g) that creates great fear among Latino immigrants and members of the general public. • Suspend “Secure Communities” until a comprehensive law of “Immigration Reform” has been passed.

Protest AZ Diamondbacks at Dodgers Stadium. Full Legalization Now • Boycott Arizona and the Arizona Diamondbacks • No Spring Training and No Major League Baseball All-Star Game in Arizona • End all Racist and Discriminatory Laws in Arizona and everywhere!

June 1, 2010

New York City, New York, 12PM26 Federal Plaza

Civil Disobedience for Immigrant Communities. This action is the 3rd in a series of civil disobedience actions where community, union, religious, political and other leaders have been arrested, under the following unity statement (in part): “Being conscientiously of opinion that our current immigration laws betray our core principles of democracy, inclusiveness and justice; that they allow for Arizona’s immoral and unconstitutional SB1070; and that their continued enforcement through detention and deportation separates families and destroys communities; we are compelled to escalate our call for Comprehensive Immigration Reform in the face of inaction from our nation’s elected representatives. "

June 2, 2010

New York City, 9:30amJudson Memorial Church 245 Thompson St. at Washington Sq.

Fast for Immigration Legal Reforms.
On June 2, at 9:30 AM we are asking people of all faiths to join the New Sanctuary Movement and Make the Road New York in Judson Memorial Church as we fast together for 72 hours and demand action not words from our political leaders....clear your schedule to reside in the Church (yes even overnight) until the morning of June 5th. Throughout the 3 days we will hold actions and educational events. As you know the last several weeks we have seen the crisis with our country’s broken immigration system escalate. Despite over 200,000 of us marching on Washington DC in March to demand action from politicians, the response has been a 'blueprint' for weak legislation from our Senator Schumer, and deafening silence from President Obama. In the midst of this silence, Arizona passed a draconian bill that would criminalize all people of color. When this law takes effect, not having immigration papers will be a crime.

An escalating attack on our communities requires an escalated response. While we have picked this week in part because our congressional representatives will be in New York on recess, we also know that immigration is not only a federal issue. The Arizona law has laid to bare what we already knew: immigration is also a local issue and that collaboration between local authorities and ICE destroys our communities.

Jun 5, 2010

Cincinnati, Ohio, 1:30PMHamilton County Courthouse1000 Main St.

March For Immigration Reform. There is NO place for racial profiling in our communities! Reform Not Raids! Family Unification! No to Arizona’s SB 1070

June 12, 2010

Saint George, Utah, 11AMBluff Park, 700 N. Bluff Street

Protest Rally Against Arizona SB 1070 and for Human Rights

A diverse group of people will rally in opposition to SB 1070 and to voice their concerns about Arizona's controversial law. We stand in solidarity with other groups and organizations that oppose Arizona SB 1070 because we feel that the law is unconstitutional, potentially racist, and against basic human dignity. We believe that the repercussions from SB 1070 will be negative and will lead to racial-profiling. This is an issue that not only concerns immigrants, Mexicans, and Latinos but it should concern every citizen in the United States because of the important human rights involved. We also must not forget that our country was built on the backs of immigrants. We cannot deny our history. Unless you are an American Indian, your ancestors were immigrants. If it was not for such diversity, the United States would not be what it is right now. We want to promote that diversity and bring hope to America, not hatred.

In the end, we are a voice for immigrants and not against them. We stand in solidarity with them. We oppose SB1070 and all measures that encourage Arizona to become a police state and any other police/immigration collaborations. Let's put a stop to this criminalizing of our communities and the racism that is involved!